Meghan Markle’s estranged father has denied claims made by the duchess’s estranged half-sister that he is stranded in the Philippines following Tuesday’s powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake.
Samantha, eldest daughter of 81-year-old Thomas Markle from his first marriage, took to X on Tuesday, claiming: “My father is stuck on the 19th floor of a building in the Philippines after a massive earthquake and he can’t walk and he is trapped.”
Placing the blame on Meghan, she said: “Shame on my disgusting evil f***ing sister forever putting our father in this position. I hope she is cursed.”
The proud MAGA supporter followed up in another post, writing: “Shame on Harry and Meghan. May they be damned.. he [Thomas] gave her everything and this is how she repays him.”
However, according to TMZ, Thomas has insisted he is safe and in no way “trapped” and “unable to walk.”
“I’m currently sitting on the couch in my hotel room, with my feet kicked up and watching Charlie Chan movies. I’m quite comfortable,” he told the outlet, noting that the earthquake’s epicenter was about 100 miles from where he lives.
He added that he hasn’t even spoken to Samantha and is unsure why she said he was trapped.
The Independent has contacted Samantha, a relative of Thomas, and a representative for Meghan for comment.
In the comments section of Samantha’s post, one user was skeptical about whether Samantha had actually spoken to her father.
Using an ableist slur, she fired back: “I talked to my dad several times a day and was on the phone with him my brother and our friend I had texted him right before and was on the phone while they were trying to figure out what to do. What do you mean how would I get a hold of him? Maybe you don’t know about phones or texting?”
Samantha then shared an update Wednesday, hours before her father spoke out: “I wish to extend our deep gratitude to everyone expressing concern about my father,” she said. “Thank you. As of today he is OK , and making plans to get out of that building. They seem to be safe for now, and hopefully there will be no serious aftershocks. Provisions are being made so that he won’t be trapped in a similar situation again. God bless and stay safe everyone.”
As of Wednesday, the death toll had risen to 69 as rescuers searched for survivors in collapsed buildings and landslide-hit villages on the island of Cebu.
Thomas, a retired TV lighting technician and director of photography, relocated to Cebu earlier this year in search of a “fresh start” away from the “awful drama of recent years.” His son, Thomas Jr., Meghan’s estranged half-brother, moved with him.
“I am ready for a change,” Thomas told the Daily Mail at the time. “I have felt stuck in a rut for some time, and I am ready to meet new people and experience kindness.”
He added: “At 80, it is time to go somewhere where the people are lovely and I can enjoy a quieter, friendlier existence. In South East Asia the medical care is good, you can live reasonably cheaply, the people are kind and respect older people and the food is healthy.”
Meghan is Thomas’s youngest child, whom he shares with his second ex-wife, Doria Ragland. They were married from 1979 to 1987.
The Duchess, 44, reportedly cut ties with her father in 2018 after finding out that he had staged paparazzi photos.
Thomas has on numerous occasions spoken publicly, and controversially, about his fraught relationship with his daughter. However, over the years, he has expressed his hopes that they could reconcile, even issuing a public apology during a March 2021 appearance on Good Morning Britain.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” he said. “I wish I hadn’t done the whole thing.”
Earlier that month, Meghan broke her silence on her father, telling Oprah Winfrey in a bombshell interview: “I grieve a lot. I mean, I’ve lost my father.”
